Around Us 01-27-10

By the PDH

Published 6:00 pm, Tuesday, January 26, 2010

LUBBOCK — Texas Tech is bracing for a $14 million cut in its state funding over the next two years.

Gov. Rick Perry has asked the state’s public universities to plan for a 5 percent reduction in state funding for fiscal years 2010 and 2011. In a Jan. 15 letter to public entities, Perry attributed the proposed cuts to the recession and "uncertainty of the state’s short-term economic future." He set a deadline of Feb. 15 for the cost-cutting proposals.

Not only would the cuts affect Tech’s $140 million in annual state appropriations, they also would extend to the entire system, including Angelo State University and the various health science centers. Overall, the cutbacks could reduce the system’s $1.3 billion total annual budget by about $30 million.

Only as a last resort would administrators cut anything affecting research or instruction, Tech President Guy Bailey said.

Corky Dragoo, Tech’s chief operating officer, set his own deadline, asking officials to detail their "urgent" cost-cutting ideas by Friday, about halfway through the 2010 fiscal year. He suggested cuts in areas such as energy savings, travel costs and hiring to fill vacant positions. Voluntary funding for extracurricular activities could also be on the chopping block.

Officials hope to deflect the financial blow away from students, he said, but fall tuition hikes may have to help fill the gap. Tech Chancellor Kent Hance said any tuition increases wouldn’t be decided until May.

Faculty pay cuts seem unlikely, said Richard Meek, president of Tech’s faculty senate, but work loads could increase with more vacant positions. — Lubbock Avalanche-Journal

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HAPPY — Authorities said Tuesday that five boys ranging in age from 9 to 12 are facing felony arson charges relating to the weekend fire that destroyed the old Happy Hotel.

Swisher County Sheriff Emett Benavidez said arson charges are pending against the boys, who were interviewed Monday with their parents present. The investigation must be completed before any charges are filed, said Benavidez.

The abandoned two-story structure, built in 1928, was gutted by the blaze Sunday evening. The building is across Main Street from the Happy Volunteer Fire Department.

Benavidez said state law doesn’t allow children younger than 10 to be prosecuted for felony, but it does allow it for children 10 and older.

About 70 firefighters from Happy, Canyon and Tulia battled the blaze for about seven hours before it was extinguished. Flames destroyed the downtown landmark, which, for decades, served as a popular meeting place in town.

Benavidez said if charges are filed, the children likely will be taken to the Youth Center of the High Plains, a juvenile detention center in Randall County. — Amarillo Globe-News

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AMARILLO — Potter County will pay an Amarillo family $400,000 and revise jail policies relating to mentally and physically ill inmates as part of a settlement reached Tuesday in a wrongful death lawsuit.

The family of Michael Dick claimed in the federal lawsuit filed in Amarillo in July that Potter County jail staffers ignored signs of Dick’s distress, causing his death at age 33.

Parents Diane and Marvin Dick sued Potter County and 10 sheriff’s office employees in federal court for their alleged conduct in Dick’s death July 19, 2008.

The county will cover $60,000 of the $400,000 settlement from its budget, with the remainder being paid by its insurer. Potter County admitted no wrongdoing in its settlement, but jail policies now will be modified.

Dick was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and generalized anxiety disorder in 1999, according to the family’s amended complaint filed in August.

He had been sentenced to eight years’ probation in 2000 as part of his conviction for intoxicated assault with a motor vehicle. Dick’s attorney at the time, Warren Clark, sent a notice to the county jail warning jail officials of his mental condition, according to the Dick lawsuit. Therefore, the lawsuit claims the county knew of Dick’s special needs because of his mental illness.

A county-ordered autopsy revealed he died of a perforated ulcer. However, a private autopsy ordered by his family also indicated he received traumatic injury to his abdomen while in custody.

In the days after Dick’s death, the Sheriff’s Department conducted an internal investigation and found all policies were followed except for conducting cell checks every 10 minutes.

Sheriff Brian Thomas, who was elected to office four months after Dick’s death, said most of the policy changes were enacted before he took office.

Reprimands were issued against sheriff’s employees, Brumley said, but no one was fired.

Terms of the settlement weren’t filed with the court as of late Tuesday and weren’t immediately available. — Amarillo Globe-News